A Friend in Need
by dragonflymalfoy
Summary: Phoebe Buffay has been married to Mike for a year now, and she's just noticing his issues with alcohol. He's spending his nights out until the early hours of the morning, drinking his life away. He won't tell Phoebe anything, won't admit to his problems, pushes her away. It only leads Phoebe into the arms of one of her best friends.
1. Chapter 1

Most newly married people were always raving about how happy they were together, and about how easy things worked for them. Even if you heard a married couple arguing, most of them still made things work. It was how married life was meant to be, and that's what had attracted Phoebe Buffay to the idea of it. She'd not had a normal life. Her mother had committed suicide, and her father had left, not to mention her jailed step-father, and she ended up living on the street for a lot of her teenage years. She wanted something normal in her life, and a wedding had been that normal thing.

However, what she'd not expected was to fall out of love with her husband, Mike, the second their honey-moon phase was over. She didn't think it was possible for her to stop loving him. When they'd first started dating, he'd been so sweet, and he made her laugh more than she thought possible. They were so happy. But, he wasn't what she'd thought he was.

Coming from a very high-class family, Mike Hannigan had a lot expected of him. His parents, Theodore and Bitsy were very different to what Phoebe was used to. Her first meeting with them had not gone well, with her raving about Mike's sexual prowess and then punching his father in his freshly done stitches. It was fair to say they didn't really approve of her, especially after learning about the pimp who spit in her mouth. However, both of them attended the wedding, although Mike's mother was a little spaced out after the few pills Theodore had crushed into her drink.

That was before, though, wasn't it? Now, Phoebe was sitting in her apartment at eight-thirty in the morning, on her day off. She couldn't sleep. She had woken up at six, this morning, when her husband dragged his feet back into their apartment, and fell into bed, fully dressed. She couldn't sleep because of the stench of alcohol on his breath.

Her husband was an alcoholic. How could this happen? How could she let this happen? With a sigh, Phoebe sipped on her freshly made coffee, the third she'd made this morning. She was trying to think of ways to get through to her husband. She wanted to help, so badly. Unfortunately, there was never time for her to mention it. Not until this morning. Now, she could finally ask him why he was being so ignorant of her feelings, and why he chose to drink all night.

Hearing Mike grumble, she figured he was now awake. So, she placed her empty mug into the kitchen sink, and leant against the counter, waiting for him to come into the room. When he did, he looked terrible, absolutely awful.

"Well, don't you look a treat." She said, sighing to herself as she shook her head, reaching for the coffee maker, hoping that would wake him up. "So, how much did you have last night?"

"Enough." He grumbled, rubbing his face with his eyes, and taking the mug of coffee from his wife's hands, and practically drinking it in one go.

"Are you going to tell me why you drink so much now?" She asked, turning to face him, her eyes scanning over his dishevelled appearance.

"Phoebe, I'm not doing this now, okay? I'm tired, my head hurts and I have to go to work this morning." He said, slamming the empty mug down onto the kitchen counter, nearly breaking it as he did so. "Just leave it." And with that, he went into the bathroom for his shower.

Phoebe shook her head, and wiped her eyes, not allowing herself to cry over him this morning, not again. She'd been sat up all morning doing so since he'd gotten home. This was the third time he'd done this, and that was just this week. It was only Friday. No doubt he'd be out tomorrow, as well as tonight, and she wasn't expecting any different.

With a slam of the front door, Phoebe was gone. She knew exactly where she was headed, and she wasn't turning back. Why did this happen to her? Of all the people in the world, why was she stuck with the failed marriage? Monica and Chandler were so happy, with their twins. Rachel and Ross were living together too, with Emma, and Ben on weekends. Joey was happy enough, all he needed was a girl in his bed, and a pizza for breakfast. Phoebe had to put on a front, smile for the camera's, and let her friends know nothing about her unhappiness. It wasn't something she was pleased to do, but she didn't need everybody knowing that she was having problems in her marriage after only a year.

Within minutes, Phoebe was sat on the comfortable sofa in Central Perk, her favourite coffee place. Gunther brought over her usual order, and with a half-smile, she thanked him, before adding two sugars to her coffee, and a little bit of milk. She then lifted the mug to her lips, and sighed. Despite having had three coffee's already, this one felt much better – simply because it was not coffee from her own home. Her unhappy home.

Setting the mug down, Phoebe looked up as she heard the door open, and in walked Rachel and Ross, with Emma in tow. "Hey, Pheebs." Rachel said, a bright smile on her lips as per usual. She looked great, her hair immaculate and her outfit looked like it'd been peeled off a mannequin at Ralph Lauren, which it probably had.

"Hi, guys. Hello, Emma." Phoebe smiled, the first smile of the day, and of the past few days. She'd been working so much, and spending the rest of her time worrying about Mike that she'd not had time to see her friends. "What're you guys doing today?"

"Well, I have to go to work, soon. We're examining some fossils that have just recently been found, so I'm going in early. But, you girls have fun." Ross smiled, as Gunther reluctantly handed him his order. Ross then kissed Rachel on the forehead, and left.

Phoebe then turned her attention to Rachel, who was tucking Emma in properly, "So, Rach. How's work?" She asked, knowing that after the whole incident a few months back, when Ross proclaimed his love for her, and stopped her from going to Paris, that she'd accepted her old job at Ralph Lauren back.

"Oh, it's great. I'm involved in so much more lately, more fashion choices, I'm talking to a lot of the designers, and we're really getting a good start on next years Fall line." She said, a bright, beautiful smile on the woman's face. Phoebe hadn't seen her this happy since she got back together with Ross, it was nice to see that look on her face again. "How's Mike? Seems like I never see him these days."

Phoebe froze, before thinking on her feet. "He's fine. Working a lot, so he's sleeping whenever he isn't at work." She explained, smiling a little as she then brought her coffee to her lips, hoping Rachel would accept that answer. The girls were best friends, they had been for ten long years, and Phoebe knew fine well when Rachel was lying, so it may have been the same the other way around, but she really hoped not.

Furrowing her brow, Rachel then nodded her head. She suspected that something was up, but she knew better than to press the matter. If things were going on between herself and Mike, Rachel would leave things well alone, because she knew that Phoebe, better than anyone else, could take care of her own business. After all, she'd managed to get revenge on a cop, when he stabbed her? She stabbed him right back, now, didn't she? So, Rachel knew that whatever was happening within her marriage, it wasn't a problem just yet.

"I've gotta go, now, Rach. I have a client to see." She lied again, before hurrying out of the coffee place, and leaving her best friend confused, and worried about her. So worried, she found herself calling Monica, and leaving her a message at work.


	2. Chapter 2

Phoebe didn't know exactly where she was going, she just couldn't be sat in the coffee house with Rachel asking her all of those questions about her marriage. Mike wasn't well, but she couldn't let people know. She'd spent her whole life dealing with failures. Her family being the biggest of the lot, and Mike was her family now, as she'd said in her wedding vows, and she couldn't let this break down, not now. Didn't he understand that he was hurting her? That he was causing her to cry through the hours of the morning? Why didn't he see what he was doing? Phoebe questioned whether she knew anything about him at all, anymore. He'd never been a big drinker before they got married. Was there something wrong with her? Something causing him to turn to alcohol? These were questions she simply couldn't face answering.

The attractive blonde stopped by the park, and took a seat on one of the various benches. The view in the park was quite nice, it was a warm, sunny day, and the trees were full of bright green leaves. It was a beautiful day, but somehow everything felt dreary and dull. The skies seemed grey, despite their clear blue colour, and the birds seemed to sing with a mocking chirp. As if they knew of Phoebe's unhappiness and wanted to rub it in her face. It hurt, but she knew it wasn't really happening.

Looking at all of the people in the park, Phoebe sighed. Happy couples on dates, kissing and holding hands. Proud parents spending the day with their children, laughing and having fun. Carefree kids playing catch with one another. It seemed unfair that everybody around her was so happy and yet she was so utterly miserable.

There was only one thing for it. Phoebe only knew of one thing that could take her mind off anything that was keeping her down. She had one person in her life that never let her down, a person who could always make her laugh, and make her see the good in everything.

Tossing her bag over her shoulder, Phoebe left the park, heading straight for an apartment building in which she spent the majority of her time. She would often spend her time here, before everything had changed. Before Chandler and Monica got married, and chose to move away. Before Ross and Rachel had Emma, and moved in together. Before she met Mike. She spent her free time in this apartment building with her best friends, and the only reason she could return to this apartment building was because there was one more friend who hadn't left the building. He still lived there, on his own, in his two bedroom apartment, the way he was meant to. Phoebe was grateful that he hadn't changed at all.

Joey Tribbiani was described in many different lights. To some, he was known as Ken Adams. Most of the people who knew him by that name were the girls he hooked up with night after night. It was well known throughout his friendship group that Joey liked no-strings-attached style relationships. He'd had girlfriends before, but they'd not worked out in his favour. He'd been in love only once, and that was with his best friend. So, it was only understandable that Joey stuck to his Casanova-type lifestyle.

Phoebe wasn't bothered by her best friends one night stand lifestyle, if anything it seemed a whole lot better than the married life she was living. But, she'd never choose that life over her own. She'd once tried dating two men at the same time, and it didn't work out very well, she'd always been a one man woman. That was how it would stay.

Within ten minutes of leaving the park, Phoebe was stood outside Joey's building, and pressed down on the buzzer, hoping he was home. "Hello?" She heard his happy-go-lucky voice, and smiled, before letting him know it was her, and she was buzzed into the building.

Soon enough, she was letting herself into his apartment, and she saw him sat on his reclining leather chair, a box of pizza sat on the table next to him, and a small toy car in his hand. He was controlling the car, 'driving' it across his belly. He'd not even noticed her grinning away at him. "Hi, Joey." She said, laughing a little bit as she shut the door behind herself.

Joey looked up, somewhat embarrassed by being caught this way, and tossed the toy car to one side, and stood up. "Pheebs." He said, hoping to start a conversation that wasn't about how bored he got now that Chandler didn't live across the hall, and Rachel wasn't staying with him, and pretty much all of his friends had new lives, and did stuff without him, leaving him on his own most of the time. "How've you been?" He asked, rubbing the back of his head, hoping there was no peanut butter there anymore.

"Ugh, I'd rather not talk about me right now. What're you doing these days?" She stated, and then asked, hoping he of all people, would accept her words, and simply answer her question. She knew he'd be worried about her, but he was a good friend, and if she didn't want to talk about something, he would never make her. It was something she appreciated the most about him, in comparison to her female friends. As much as she loved Rachel and Monica, they always tried to make her talk about her problems, especially when she didn't want to. Apparently, talking things out made everything better, but it definitely didn't. She was happy to have a friend in Joey; he was always so easy going with these things.

Joey was, of course, a little curious as to why she didn't want to talk about how she'd been since he last saw her, but he didn't press the matter. "Uh, nothing really. Since everybody sort of, left, I haven't done very much." He shrugged his shoulders, a little disappointed in himself. He hadn't admitted to himself that he was lonely, but it was obvious he was.

Letting out a sigh, and nodding her head, Phoebe knew what he meant. Even though she was one of the people who'd changed, she'd gotten married, started her own new life, she still felt like everything was different. She missed the old days, before they'd all grown up. "I hate this change." She thought out loud, before realizing she had said it, hoping Joey didn't read it in the way she truly meant it.

"Me too!" He said, pointing his finger at himself, "You know, I want Monica and Rachel back across the hall, and Chandler living here. I want Ross all mopey and stupid again, and damn it, I want Bay Watch back!" Phoebe noticed the raised pitch in Joey's voice, and she knew he was really affected by all of this.

Stepping forward she placed her hands on his arms, and met his eyes, "I know, Joey, I know. Calm down, okay?" She said, her voice soothing, hopefully making him feel better. "Look, I hate this as much as you do, but we have to deal with it." The girl said, before stepping past him and slumping into the chair Joey had previously been sitting in. "Nothing's going according to plan for me either, but I'm dealing with it however I can."

"Pheebs, is there something you wanna talk about?" He asked, taking a seat on one of the stools beside the kitchen bench he usually ate meals off. This was the second time she'd seemed a little off, not at all like herself. Usually, she was kooky and funny; she never seemed this down before. He figured he should ask if she wanted to talk about whatever it was that was clearly bothering her.

Looking at Joey, the married woman knew she would have to tell him at some point, wouldn't she? It bothered her to bother her friends with her problems, though. Sighing, she rested her head back against the chair, closing her eyes for a moment, "Have you ever wondered if the person you're supposed to trust the most is actually the person you thought they were?" She asked him, signs of regret and disappointment in her voice.

Joey could hear the upset in her voice, but it still took him a few seconds to make sense of what she'd just asked him. He wasn't the quickest of people. However, when he realized what she was asking, he furrowed his brow, wondering who she was talking about. "Pheebs, what's going on?" He then asked, choosing to ask outright, instead of beating around the bush again.

"Mike's an alcoholic." There. She said it, loud and clear. Joey's eyebrows raised fully, and he knew how horrible this must be for her. Phoebe's eyes were filling with tears as she sat forward and placed her hand over her face, hiding how upset she was from her best friend. "He stays out almost every night, until really early in the morning, and then he passes out. He won't tell me why he's doing it; he won't talk to me at all." She said, unable to stop herself from letting it all out now, it was just far too much for her to deal with on her own now.

Seeing how much this was affecting Phoebe, Joey rushed forward, and knelt in front of her, taking both of her hands into his own. He did his best to meet her eyes, and try to get through to her. "You listen here, okay? You deserve better." He said, stating what he believed to be a fact, now. He knew how badly Phoebe had it throughout her life, and she deserved happiness more than anything else in the world. So, seeing her dealing with her alcoholic husband now, it wasn't any good for her.

Joey remembered the discussion he'd had with Mike before he'd married Phoebe. He was meant to be walking Phoebe down the aisle, and so he'd decided to have a little talk to her best friend's fiancée. He'd told Mike all about how the woman he was due to marry that day was very important to him, she was one of his best friends, and he cared very much about her. Hurting her would cause some serious problems between Mike and Joey, and that statement still stood. Keeping his exterior calm, and comforting, Joey wanted to be the good friend right now. However, on the inside his blood was boiling. He wanted to go over to Mike's work, and beat the living hell out of him. There was no way he would get away with doing this to Phoebe, no chance whatsoever.

"I'm here for you, Pheebs." He whispered, holding onto her hands very tightly. He hated seeing her this way, it really broke him. He would never admit it to Chandler, but Phoebe was probably the one he was closest to out of the group. He cared about her in ways he had never cared for anybody else before. She was more than important to him. She was the world to him, and seeing her this way was killing him.

Phoebe brought her head up, and looked Joey right in the eye, "You really are, aren't you?" She asked, as he reached forward and wiped the tears from her eyes. She realized that out of all of her wonderful friends, Joey was always the one she turned to. He was always the one she could rely on with her biggest, most terrible secrets. He may have had trouble keeping Chandler and Monica's relationship a secret, but he'd never failed her. Now, she was wondering why. She was also wondering whether she'd picked the wrong man. Sure, the right man was at the wedding, but he was there to marry her to someone else.

Maybe, all this time, Phoebe was meant to be with Joey.


End file.
